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Tag: Philippines

  • AirAsia to fly Manila-Osaka route starting July 2019

    AirAsia to fly Manila-Osaka route starting July 2019

    Budget airline AirAsia announced it will operate flights between Manila and Osaka, Japan for the first time in July 2019.

    In a statement, AirAsia said its daily services for the Manila-Osaka route will begin on July 1.

    AirAsia Philippines president and CEO Dexter Comendador called the launch of the new route a “milestone occasion.”

    “Being able to travel directly and affordably to Osaka is fantastic news for Filipinos and we’re confident this new route will serve as a gateway for guests to connect to other popular destinations in Japan such as Kyoto and Nara,” said Comendador.

    “We are also excited to welcome guests from Osaka and its neighboring regions to the Philippines. This international route will contribute to the government’s target of 8.2 million visitors this year.”

    Along with the launch of this new route, AirAsia also announced an all-in, one-way promo fare starting at P1,990 for its BIG loyaty program members. The airline said bookings for this promo should be made from March 29 to April 7, for travels from July 1 to October 26.

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  • Philippines taps UNDP to accelerate free Wi-Fi rollout

    Philippines taps UNDP to accelerate free Wi-Fi rollout

    The Philippines’ Department of ICT (DICT) has signed a partnership agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) aimed at fast-tracking the deployment of free Wi-Fi access in public places.

    Under the agreement, the UNDP will provide support for the government’s Pipol Konek – Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project.

    The UNDP will conduct area-based network analysis of target sites, oversee monitoring of project impact, and continue to provide technical training to stakeholders involved in the rollout.

    The UNDP and the DICT will meanwhile jointly take charge of project oversight. The project participants plan to hold workshops and consultative meetings to address the challenges with the rollout and investigate potential solutions.

    The DICT sought the assistance of the UNDP in September last year to expedite the project and aid in the capacity-building initiatives of the companies involved in the rollout. A formal signing ceremony was held last week during the first project board meeting.

    “Today as we set to seal this meeting of minds, the Department is optimistic that our goals of providing free Internet access and promoting knowledge-building among our citizens will soon be realized,” DICT acting secretary Eliseo M Rio Jr said at the signing ceremony.

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  • Hong Kong dessert shop Hui Lau Shan Launched in Philippines

    Hong Kong dessert shop Hui Lau Shan Launched in Philippines

    Hong Kong dessert shop Hui Lau Shan has opened in the Philippines.

    It is the first time for the franchise to open in the very region from which its special variety of mango is sourced. Its soft launch on March 17 at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong city was well-attended by local fans of the brand’s mango-based food products.

    Hui Lau Shan Megamall PH store

    Hui Lau Shan originated as a Chinese herbal tea vendor in the 1960s before blending carabao mangoes in with its other ingredients in the 90s to create a unique dessert.

    The fresh fruit drinks were well-received and the brand now has more than 260 locations globally.

    The firm’s local partner is Fat Daddy’s Group, well-known for its Smokehouse restaurants.

    “The sweet taste of our own fruit has helped propel the brand’s growth in and outside Asia,” said Fat Daddy’s president Freshnaida Versoza. “It’s about time that we bring it here to the Philippines. It’s also our way of supporting the country’s agribusiness since Hui Lau Shan is estimated to consume one ton of premium carabao mangoes per week for 10 to 15 stores.”

    More Hui Lau Shan branches are planned for other malls in the territory, including SM North Edsa, SM Fairview and SM Mall of Asia.

  • Canon Philippines redesigns concept store in Pampanga

    Canon Philippines redesigns concept store in Pampanga

    Canon Philippines has opened its redesigned “Image Square” concept store at SM City Pampanga.

    The outlet, located near the entrance to the mall’s Cyberzone area, showcases a full line-up of Canon’s products and includes a service centre.

    “The logic behind this is that after version 1.0, we jumped into version 3.0”, said Canon assistant sales manager Roshan Daryani. “This is a one-stop shop for all Canon lovers and from the input to the output, we have it all here because our goal is to provide everything our clients need the moment you step inside the booth.”Canon Philippines

    Featured among the products on offer are Canon’s new mirrorless cameras and a pocket-sized Bluetooth printer. Canon’s personnel on-site are fluent in the technologies as well as related image-specific elements such as post-processing.

    “The booth is really made for a wide-range of markets,” added Daryani. “We have products for professional photographers and even just the hobbyists who wanted to upgrade their skills in photography. The Image Square is basically covering all the needs in the camera industry.”

  • Cebu Pacific offers P299 promo fare for all domestic flights

    Cebu Pacific offers P299 promo fare for all domestic flights

    Cebu Pacific on Friday announced a P299 seat sale promo for all domestic flights as part of its “Super Seat Fest” that kicked off on March 1.  Flights to all domestic destinations are available for as low as P299 from March 1 to March 2, the country’s largest carrier said in a Twitter post. No promo code is needed to book discounted seats.

    Travel period for the availed flights are from April 1 to July 31, 2019, the airline said.

    Cebu Pacific earlier said “1 million seats and deals” would be available for the entire month of March to mark its 23rd anniversary.

    Philippine Airlines, meanwhile, announced a P78/$78 base fare promo for domestic and international flights to mark its 78th anniversary.

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  • Cebu Pacific Set To Accelerate Expansion with Neos

    Cebu Pacific Set To Accelerate Expansion with Neos

    The Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Air plans to add at least 10 new-generation aircraft to its fleet this year, as it steps up its fleet renewal and expansion plans in a bid to accelerate growth. The country’s largest airline expects to take delivery of five A320neos and five A321neos as part of an ongoing strategy to replace aging aircraft, broaden its network, and up-gauge flights at Manila’s congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

    In January, Cebu Pacific took delivery of its first A321neo from Airbus as part of a larger order for 32 of the type. Additional plans call for one ATR 72-600 to arrive sometime this year. The airline now operates a fleet of 35 Airbus A320s, seven A321s, eight ATR 72-500s, 12 ATR 72-600s, and eight A330 widebodies.

    In a securities filing on Monday, the airline announced a 50 percent decline in earnings in 2018, citing challenging market conditions such as high fuel prices, increased competition, the six-month closure of Boracay Airport, and operational limitations at key airports. Net profits fell to $73.8 million from 2017’s $149 million while passenger revenue rose 9 percent year-over-year to $1.4 billion; ancillary revenue grew by 6 percent. The airline generated a 19 percent increase in cargo carried, while passenger numbers rose by 3 percent to 20.3 million.

    “Despite the pressures posed in 2018, we remained resilient,” said Cebu Pacific COO Michael Shau. “We were able to expand our network by up-gauging our flights touching congested airports. 2019 will be a different story though; we have already received the first of our fuel-efficient A321neo orders from Airbus and we expect 10 more new-generation aircraft this year. We also just announced four new domestic routes; 2019 is definitely the year we accelerate our growth.”

    While the airline is planning to add more passenger flights out of its Clark and Cebu hubs, it also sees more opportunity in cargo, reflected in plans to convert two of its ATR 72-500s to large-cargo-door freighters. Once it completes the conversion, Cebu Pacific will become the first low-cost carrier in the world to operate freighters of any type. With operations set for the first quarter of this year, the incoming ATRs will allow the airline to serve smaller airports in the Philippines, thereby allowing for new routes and increased connectivity.

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  • Cebu Pacific income down 50.6% in 2018

    Cebu Pacific income down 50.6% in 2018

    The operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific saw earnings dip by 50.6 percent last year amid challenges such as the closure of a popular tourist destination, rising fuel prices and increased competition.

    In a statement, Gokongwei-owned Cebu Air Inc. said profits fell to P3.9 billion from P7.9 billion a year earlier even as revenues climbed 9 percent to P74.1 billion from P68.03 billion.

    Passenger revenues, in particular, hit P54.3 billion, 9 percent higher than the P49.93 billion recorded in 2017. The listed airline carried 20.3 million passengers last year, up 3 percent from 2017’s 19.7 million.

    The cargo business also witnessed double-digit growth at 19 percent, the firm said.

    “The growth in CEB’s (Cebu Air’s stock symbol) 2018 business came amidst a challenging environment with high fuel prices, a volatile Philippine peso, rising interest rates, increased competition, the six-month closure of Boracay, and operational limitations in the country’s key airports,” the firm said.

    Michael Ivan Shau, Cebu Pacific chief operations officer, said the carrier expected to bounce back due to fleet and network expansions.

    “2019 is definitely the year we accelerate our growth,” Shau said in a statement.

  • Grab launches ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option

    Grab launches ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option

    Grab has expanded its fintech offer with “Buy Now Pay Later” facility and an online store check-out plugin.

    Through its joint venture with Credit Saison, the ride-hailing platform offers a post-paid payment facility which allows customers to pay for Grab services at the end of the month, without additional fees.

    This is geared towards consumers who face exceptional expenses, but are keen to avoid being hit with high credit card or personal loan interest payments.

    The platform will also launch another pay-later product, which will allow consumers to shop online immediately, but pay for their purchases in installments.

    Only Grab’s most creditworthy customers can use these two products. Credit risk is based on their tenure on the Grab platform, frequency of use and spending patterns.

    Grab has been boosting its financial services in Southeast Asia in recent years. Its GrabPay service has teamed with e-commerce platforms such as Qoo10 and 11Street.

    It has recently signed with Adyen, Boku, iPay88, Dragonpay, Cathay Cineplexes, and SM Cinema in the Philippines.

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  • Mislatel postpones launch date to early 2021

    Mislatel postpones launch date to early 2021

    The Philippines’ Mislatel has postponed the expected start date of its commercial operations to early 2021 as a result of delays receiving a key certificate that will allow it to operate.

    Mislatel, the joint venture established and selected to become the Philippines’ third operator, has moved the start date from its initial target of late 2020.

    Mislatel is jointly owned by China Telecom and local businesses owned by tycoon Dennis Uy.

    The company is still waiting on the issuance of a certificate of public convenience, but the Department of ICT is still waiting on a ratified Congressional resolution on the validity of Mislatel’s operating franchise before this certificate can be issued.

    If the certificate is still not issued this month as anticipated, the commencement date could potentially be delayed further.

    Last month the Senate approved a change in ownership of the franchise Mislatel intends to operate under to the consortium, in order to circumvent issues surrounding the validity of the franchise as a result of former non-compliance with its terms.

    The franchise, which had been held by a company owned by Uy that was also known as Mislatel, had required the commencement of operators within a year of its issuance. This requirement had not been fulfilled, leading to concerns that the franchise was null and void. The Mislatel consortium had also failed to notify the government about a change in ownership of the franchise.

    But the Senate overwhelmingly voted for a resolution to approve the change of ownership to maintain the validity of the franchise.

  • Suzuki Ertiga Black Edition Just Launched In The Philippines

    Suzuki Ertiga Black Edition Just Launched In The Philippines

    The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga was introduced in India last year and is sold in a number of markets including several South East Asian countries. The new generation model is being offered with several upgrades overseas and latest one is a new special edition model for Philippines. The Suzuki Ertiga Black Edition brings an all-black interior to the MPV without making any changes to the exterior of the vehicle, which can otherwise be seen on the special edition Ertiga GT set for debut later this month in Indonesia.

    Coming to the changes on the Suzuki Ertiga Black edition for Philippines, the model gets the all-black treatment in place of the beige themed cabin on the standard version. The automaker has also used darker wood trims on the dashboard to match the overall theme, while the plastics inside the cabin are black as well. The wood finished multi-function steering wheel continues to be on offer. The car continues to be offered as a seven-seater with the 2+3+3 layout. Internationally, the Ertiga misses out on the SmartPlay Studio infotainment system but does get a 10-inch touchscreen display with with Bluetooth, USB and AUX connectivity.

    Under the hood, the Philippines-spec Suzuki Ertiga draws powered from the 1.5-litre K-Series petrol engine tuned for 103 bhp, and is paired with a 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmission. The engine is also offered in India alongside the 1.3-litre DDiS diesel motor with 89 on tap. That said, reports suggest that the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga for India is all set to get the new Suzuki-developed 1.5-litre diesel engine under the hood. The new motor will meet the stringent BS6 norms and will effectively replace the 1.3 Fiat-sourced mill across the Maruti Suzuki vehicle range. There are also reports of a more premium six-seater version coming later this year and could be sold exclusively via the Nexa outlets.

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  • Cebu Pacific leads in Philippines-Australia flights

    Cebu Pacific leads in Philippines-Australia flights

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has kept its market share lead in the Philippines to Australia route, a statement on Thursday showed. Citing data from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics from November last year, Cebu Pacific said it cornered a market share of 39.5 percent versus close competitor Philippine Airlines, which had a 38.1-percent share.

    Cebu Pacific flies between Manila, Melbourne and Sydney. It also competes with Qantas, however the Australian carrier’s operations are limited to Manila and Sydney.

    “As more brand-new aircraft enters the CEB (Cebu Pacific) fleet, we are now in a position to seriously study the possibility of expanding to more destinations in Australia. We are encouraged by our performance in the Australia market,” Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing at Cebu Pacific, said in the statement.

    The airline said demand has been going up. For Nov. 2018, some 48,000 passengers flew between Manila, Melbourne and Sydney. The figure represented a growth of 31.3 percent. Cebu Pacific alone carried 18,971 passengers, or a year-on-year growth of 56 percent.

    Cebu Pacific flies five times weekly between Manila and Sydney and thrice a week between Manila and Melbourne. Cebu Pacific is the only low-cost carrier with direct service from Manila to Sydney and Melbourne.

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  • Smart, Nokia to pilot 5G deployments in schools

    Smart, Nokia to pilot 5G deployments in schools

    The Philippines’ PLDT and mobile division Smart have signed an agreement with Nokia to pilot the deployment of 5G technologies and services in schools.

    The agreement will see PLDT, Smart and Nokia collaborate to identify real-world 5G standalone solutions for use in schools, colleges and universities, including arificial intelligence, drones and advanced IoT applications.

    The companies will levearge the PLDT-Smart Technolab in Makati and the Nokia Technology Center in Quezon City for the project.

    In addition, the agreement covers deploying 5G standalone products and services, such as 5G handsets and applications, in the Philippines.

    “We are happy to partner with Nokia to help develop intelligent solutions and technologies for the benefit of the Philippine education sector,” PLDT-Smart chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

    “As the country’s leading and most trusted technology enabler, PLDT and Smart are excited to work with Nokia and the academe in realizing our 5G vision,” added the company’s chief revenue officer Ernesto R. Alberto.

    PLDT and Smart claim to be the best positioned company to deploy 5G in the Philippines due to its status as the operator as the country’s most extensive fiber network, which now spans over 244,000 route kilometers.

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  • GateHouse Telecom developing universal satcom interface

    GateHouse Telecom developing universal satcom interface

    Satellite industry software provider GateHouse Telecom has revealed it is developing a technology that will allow a single physical satcom terminal to use multiple satellite systems.

    The company is developing a new interface that will allow users to run the same satcom terminal hardware and interface on different satellite services.

    GateHouse Telecom product manager Svend Holme Sørensen said the project reflects the company’s belief that there is a need for a universal satcom application interface.

    “To stay connected, user terminals have to adapt to changes in data routing and frequent changes of satellites,” he said.

    “Our new software platform, when based on software defined radio hardware, combined with the increasing availability of multi-service antenna systems opens the possibility of operating terminals on several satellite systems.”

    He said such demand appeared to be reflected in discussions at this year’s SmallSat Symposium in Silicon Valley.

    “There seems to be a general wish to run satellite constellations using network management functions, for example, software defined networks. However, this kind of functionality goes beyond the existing protocol specifications used today.”

    Using the same hardware terminal for multiple satellite systems would allow developers and engineers to bring down user terminal costs by increasing volumes to improve business cases.

  • PTCL engages Nokia to deploy 100G OTN

    PTCL engages Nokia to deploy 100G OTN

    Pakistan’s PTCL has deployed a new 100G optical transport network in partnership with Nokia.

    The Nokia DWDM network utilizes PTCL’s extensive fiber footprint to provide multipath redundancy.

    It will be instantly upgradeable to 200G and 400G per wavelength as demand dictates, and the software-defined network (SDN) capabilities of the solution will allow the operator to increase network capacity and efficiency.

    The network also uses set-partition quadrature phase shift keying (SP QPSK) modulation technology to allow PTCL to cover very long distance links with improved signal-to-noise tolerance and latency.

    Finally, the solution has been designed to allow for the easier launch of services based on ROADM (reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer) technology.

    “We are committed to providing a world class network experience to our subscribers and this deployment is a significant step in that direction,” PTCL CTIO Saad M Waraich said.

    “Nokia’s state of the art optical network technology and their expertise will help us to differentiate our portfolio as we provide our business and consumer subscribers with faster and more reliable broadband and carrier services.”

    Nokia this week also announced it has secured a five-year contract to expand the 4G network capacity and coverage of another Pakistani operator, Jazz.

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  • Globe opens its first Esports Center

    Globe opens its first Esports Center

    The Philippines’ Globe Telecom has announced the launch of its first Esports Center, aimed at supporting various local esports communities.

    The Esports Center at Play Nation in the UP Town Center in Quezon City will offer various initiatives including esports competitions, as well as support helping gamers create live streaming content and interact with other members of different esports communities.

    Globe SVP and head of content business group Nikko Acosta said the facility will help Globe’s Games and Esports division achieve one of its key goals of strengthening support for esports in the Philippines in cooperation with various fan communities.

    “We want to bring together different communities of popular games like Arena of Valor, Rules of Survival, League of Legends, and Tekken – among others – in one venue to upgrade their knowledge and gauge their skill levels with others through peer learning of new strategies and techniques,” he said.

    “We are positioning esports as a real sport, to make a gamer into a real athlete harnessing both physical and mental attributes by playing it right,” Acosta added, mentioning the company’s #PlayItRight advocacy campaign, which seeks to emphasize the importance of discipline, nutrition, physical wellness, and cognitive development in esports.